I made this one 4th of July - I just kept grits and then shrimp mixture in 2 separate chaffing dishes. It looks complicated but it's not. Chop everything but the tomatoes the day before. I also pre-measure my ingredients and put them in appropriate-sized bowls either the day before or early in the day. This could easily be done the day before!

If you then wanted to have a nice salad and bread with this that would also make a great meal. You could have a nice fruit salad for after along with the cake.

· Use the sausage water for the grits water. Add the grits and ½ cup butter. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir constantly until thickened. When thickened remove from heat and stir in the cream and the Parmesan Cheese. Season with salt and pepper, set aside but try to keep warm (just put lid on it).

· Melt 2 TBS of the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, and green pepper, stirring occasionally but letting the pieces get caramelized (you want them to brown a little bit).

· Stir in the stock, sausage, and continue cooking until shrimp are opaque throughout and the stock has reduced slightly, about 2 minutes.

· Stir the remaining 6 TBS of butter into the mixture and cook until melted.

· Stir in the green onions and taste to adjust salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon equal amounts of grits into 6 bowls. Top with the skillet ingredients and serve immediately.

The best way to do this is to have everything chopped, diced and minced prior to beginning to cook. Put everything in individual bowls ready to go. Have butter divided as listed in directions and everything. Line up everything from left to right in order of needing for recipe.

My Note: I know I added some beef base to this – when you add the chicken stock throw in a beef bullion cube if you don't have beef base. Really helps the flavor.

For the kids you could have different sandwiches -
peanut butter and jelly
peanut butter and banana
(you can cut the sandwiches in little circles using a small biscuit cutter)
cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches
bologna

****am I close or am I way off - I could be off with the Shrimp and Grits but they are sooooooooooooo good.